The Optus emergency call fiasco has deepened, with both the Albanese government and Singtel, Optus’s parent company in Singapore, taking tougher stances after two Triple Zero outages in less than two weeks.

On September 29, more than 4,500 people south of Sydney were unable to reach emergency services.

The failure came just days after a nationwide disruption linked to several deaths.

The federal government branded the collapse “absolutely shocking” and summoned Singtel’s chief executive, Yuen Kuan Moon, for answers.

Yuen apologised to families and admitted Optus still could not fully explain the second outage near Wollongong. He stressed that “it takes time to transform a company”, but rejected suggestions of underinvestment, instead pointing to “people issues” inside Optus.

That stance infuriated unions, who said outsourcing and cost-cutting, not frontline staff, were to blame.

Optus has suffered some severe brand damage in recent times

Singtel has promised full cooperation with regulators.

It has hired US consultancy Kearney and former NBN Co director Kerry Schott to review Optus’ resilience. The company also blamed faulty Ericsson equipment for part of the disruption.

But consumer groups and former regulators argue Optus cannot be trusted to investigate itself and accuse Singtel of being part of the problem.

The government is fast-tracking legislation to create an independent guardian for Triple Zero calls.

The industry regulator, ACMA, has launched a separate investigation.

Communications Minister Anika Wells ordered Singtel to bring in outside advisers and the Greens called for a cultural overhaul at Optus.

Singtel and Optus leaders continue to back local CEO Stephen Rue, who is less than a year into the job, but pressure is mounting. Analysts at JP Morgan warn repeated failures could drive customers to Telstra, with predictable consequences for the bottom line.

With government scrutiny intensifying, the prospect of tougher sanctions and strict oversight is now very real.